The Milton family came originally from Milton near Halton and Thame in Oxfordshire, where it florished several years, till at last the estate was sequestered, one of the family having taken the unfortunate side in the Wars of the Roses. John Milton, the poet's grandfather, was keeper of the forest of Shotover near Halton; he was of the religion of Rome, and such a bigot that he disinherited his son only for being a Protestant. Upon this, the son, the poet's father, named likewise John Milton, settled in London and became a scrivener by the advice of a friend eminent in that profession: but he was not so devoted to gain and to business, as to lose all taste of the politer arts, and was particularly skilled in music, in which he was not only a fine performer, but is also celebrated for several pieces of his composition. He contributed to a collection of madrigals in honor of Queen Elizabeth. And yet, on the other hand, he was not in the least to neglect his business: he by diligence and economy acquired a competent estate, which enabled him afterwards to retire, and live in the country. He was by all accounts a very worthy man; and married an excellent woman, said to have been a woman of incomparable virtue and goodness; and by her her husband had two sons and a daughter; in order Anne, John and Christopher.
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